Corset stay



J. L. GOWEN b CORSET STAY May l0, 1949.

Filed June 5, 1946 IN; E L/ BY l l Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CORSET STAY Jessie L. Gowen, Colfax, Wash.

Application June 3, 1946, Serial No. 674,071

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to garment stays and is particularly adapted for use in such garments as womens corsets which are often reinforced by resilient at stays that are mounted in tubular passages provided in the garment so that the garment maintains its shape and will not sag or wrinkle.

In garments with stays that have heretofore been used, great dilculty has been encountered in preventing the stays from breaking through the material at the upper edges of the garment. The stays being of a thin at sheet material are subjected to a great deal of twisting and bending. They can accommodate themselves to lateral bending but they obviously should not stretch or contract lengthwise since the main purpose of the stay is to prevent lengthwise contraction of the garment. It has been proposed to fasten the garment to the stay with rivets or sewing at the upper end and at the lower end but the lateral movement, bending, and twisting action to which the stay is subjected soon causes it to break the rivet loose or cut the stitches where it is sewn. Furthermore, the fastening by a simple opening at the end of the stay is not satisfactory from the standpoint of adjustability of the stay with respect to the material. There is not enough freedom of movement for the stay. It has also been proposed to cap the end of the stay with a covering so as to avoid the sharp edges of the stay but this merely delays the wear somewhat and the stay so equipped still cuts through the garment material.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a novel means whereby the stay may be anchored in the garment in such a way that the freedom for pivotal action of the stay with respect to the'edges of the garment is still provided and, at the same time, the stay is anchored by a broad smooth surfaced member that extends a substantial distance lengthwise of the edge of the garment so as to provide an extensive wearing surface and securing points at a distance apart along the edge of the garment.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be understood from the description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a portion of a garment showing how my improved stay securing means is mounted;

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of a completed stay; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken through the upper end of the stay on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings, my invention is embodied in a flexible stay for garments which is indicated by the numeral 5. The body of the garment material is indicated by the numeral 6 and the garment is shown as having a binding 1 along the edge thereof. This binding is of the usual construction and no novel use is claimed for the particular binding. yThe garment has the customary passage or channel 8 in which the stay 5 is movably mounted. This passage is of suflicient size to receive the stay. In some constructions the stay may have considerable play or movement within the passage, while in others, the stay iits rather tightly. The great diiculty with the stay, however, is the fact that the tendericy of the garment is to contract lengthwise of the stay which is the one direction in which the stay does not have exibility. In fact the main purpose of the stay is to keep the garment from contracting or wrinkling in this direction.

I have found that it is essential for the stay -to be capable of some pivotal movement at its end with respect to the binding 1. Unless this pivotal movement is provided, the stay very quickly breaks itself free of the securing .binding and eventually cuts its Way through the binding so that it is a free element that may be lost from the garment and that may cause considerable discomfort by working part way out of the passage. In order to give the stay adequate freedom of movement, and in order to firmly secure it in the garment, I provide a clip 9 of which preferably consists of a piece of metal or plastic -composition that is folded o-ver to form two side portions with a rounded elongated back portion I2. The side portions have ears I0 and Il extended downwardly at Ithe centers. These ears are apertured to receive a .pivot pin I3. The end of the stay is apertured as indicated at I4 to receive the pivot pin.

I provide a clip of this character at each end of the stay as is shown by the drawings. It is necessary if the passage 8 ts the stay tightly that one of the clips be applied after the stay is placed within the passage 8, or alternatively, the passage 8 must be formed by sewing along the edges of the stay after it is secured to the garment. However, in most constructions the clips can be turned so that their long axes parallel the stay and inserted without difculty.

The pivot pins I 3 are preferably tubular so that they too may serve as eyelets for securing the stay to the garment, if for any reason it is desired to anchor the stay at the ends. The tubular pivot pins are desirably made in two separable pieces i3d and |311 so that they may be removed. The clips can thus be attached to the stay after it is inserted in the garment. The stay may have additional apertures l5 intermediate its ends forv loosely anchoring it in place. These apertures are fitted with hollow rivets I6 for the protection of the securing means which is applied through the rivet.

The clip itself has its end portions apertured as indicated at I5 and I6 so that it may be fastened by suitable fastening means such as threads, rivets or the like to the binding 1. The stay is thus mounted securely in place by the clips 9 yet it is free to pivot so that the upper binding I and the upper edge of the garment may have al1 necessary freedom of movement with respect to the lower edge of the garment without causing excessive strain on the fastening means that fastens the clips to the binding. The clips will adjust themselves to the binding and the long rounded top surfaces I2 of the clips provide adequate engagement with the binding strip materal.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be clear from the foregoing description. Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A garment stay of the character described comprising an elongated strip of stay material and means to secure the strip to a garment comprising a clip of substantially rigid material covering the end of the strip and being pivoted thereon, said clip being composed of opposed side portions joined along their side edges that face away from the strip, said side portions receiving the said end of the strip therebetween, and said side portions being extended beyond the strip at both side edges of the strip, thereby providing securing portions by which the clip may be attached to a garment.

2. A garment stay of the character described comprising an elongated strip of stay material and means to secure the strip to a garment comprising a clip of substantially rigid material folded over and covering the end of the strip,

said clip projecting beyond the side edges of the strip and provided with apertures at a distance lfrom the side edges of the strip, said clip having its side portions extending lengthwise of the strip to provide ears, between which the end of the strip extends, and a pivot pin comprising two separable tubular portions extending through the ears and the part of the strip therebetween.

- JESSIE L. GOWEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

